Fellow ex-IndyCar driver Alex Tagliani held the provisional pole early on in the final round with an 85.092-second lap that was eclipsed by Hornish.

With less than 2 minutes to go, Tagliani went out again in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford but on his final flyer lap, a wheel hop caused him to lose control and spin out going into Turn 4 – ensuring that Hornish would win the pole on home ground.

“I was pretty happy with the [lap],” Hornish told ESPN. “We only did one lap in the first session, trying to save our tires a little bit, and felt like we were pretty close. Then we almost ended up getting bumped out there at the end [of Round 1]. It’s an interesting qualifying format for sure. To be able to go out there and put in two solid laps in the Monster Energy car felt pretty good.

“Everybody that works on this car did a great job overnight getting the engine changed, making sure that everything was put back together properly. The car handled really good this morning, and hopefully, it will continue that way into the race.”

Hornish is making his seventh Nationwide start of the year in the No. 54 car, and he really wants to bring home a trophy from a track where he watched many races while growing up.

“I remember coming here as a kid, having the opportunity – this is one of the places where I’ve seen more races probably from outside the fence then I have from the race car,” he said. “So, I always think about the memories I have from actually being here as a fan more so than a driver.”